China's Assimilationist Language Policy

6    Bilingual education in China

The case of Yunnan

Linda Tsung, Ge Wang, and Qunying Zhang

Background

Over the past thirty years the world has witnessed China's rapid growth into a regional and global economic power. However, a number of frontier provinces in China's western region are still struggling to eliminate poverty and to improve the literacy of school-aged children. Yunnan is a case in point. According to The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development (SCLGO) (2007) report, 65 percent of Yunnan's poor people (1.47 million) concentrate in ethnic minority areas where 56 of its 78 impoverished counties are also to be found. These 56 counties are among the most poverty-stricken counties not only in Yunnan ...